The series centers on Leigh's Cat Sullivan, who grew up wanting to follow in the footsteps of her father, a New York police detective who was mysteriously killed in the line of duty. After joining the force, Cat's attempts to discover the truth about her father's death by any means necessary net her a demotion to foot patrol. She meets taxi driver Leo Romba (Jacky Ido), whom she weds so he can stay in the country in exchange for his driving skills and taxi. Together, they race through New York to solve cases.

The series was produced by EuropaCorp Television with TF1. Gary Scott Thompson (NBC's Las Vegas, The Fast and the Furious) serves as exec producer and showrunner. The deal for Taxi Brooklyn brings Thompson back to the NBC fold after more than 100 episodes of Las Vegas.

Acquired (read: low-cost) content is one of the ways the broadcast networks have been approaching original scripted series in the summer. Last year, NBC aired original dramedy Camp, a lower-cost original series filmed in Australia with a largely unknown cast. The network canceled the series after one low-rated run. ABC, for its part, released its summer schedule earlier this month, which featured a lineup consisting of five scripted series alongside the usual roster of unscripted fare. CBS will air pricey originals Under the Dome (season two) and Halle Berry starrer Extant, among others. Fox will unspool the limited 24 revival in May, among other originals.